Focus Sam2 Electric Bike 2018 Burgundy/Red

Read the full review at Design & Innovation Awards.

FOCUS launched their new long travel E-MTB SAM² under the slogan “re-discover enduro”. Read on to find out whether long travel E-MTB’s are the future and Marty McFly of “Back to the Future” would have been better off travelling through time on an electrified mountain bike. The FOCUS SAM² with its additional 30 mm of travel looks like the big brother of the JAM², with which German bike brand FOCUS made a big leap in the area of ​battery management, rear suspension performance and E-MTB agility in 2016. An additional T.E.C. Pack battery pack fits in the front triangle and doubles the maximum battery capacity to a total of 756 Wh. The F.O.L.D. rear linkage of the SAM² has been optimised and now offers 170 mm of travel.

Get on, press the button and off you go. The FOCUS SAM² is not a flux capacitor. The power button on the top tube, however, shows how quickly ideas about the future can become a reality. Thanks to the Shimano STEPS E8000 motor and a 75° seat tube angle riding uphill is a pleasure. On long tours over forest roads or on steep trails, you will feel the efficient seating position with every pedal stroke. Even on technical climbs the SAM² faithfully stays on track, providing plenty of traction over rocks and roots.

Arriving at the trailhead, the SAM² reveals more of its positive characteristics. Meandering down the trail with loads of control and a big smile on your face. Whether ploughing through berms at top speed or switching back and forth down the side of a mountain. Through rough sections, the wheels remain on the ground and in control thanks to the 170 mm of travel provided by the F.O.L.D. linkage. The suspension responds sensitively but also gives the necessary feedback on hard hits to follow the flow of the trail. The potent tires round off an overall harmonious riding experience. When pedalling at a constant rate, the integrated battery will get you about 1,100 m in altitude.

The development team at FOCUS has done a great job with the SAM². It’s an all-round E-MTB that lets you ride and have fun on any surface with confidence. Despite so much travel, the bike climbs very efficiently, making it a great allrounder. We’re sure Marty McFly would enjoy the SAM², because – without the T.E.C. Pack – it glides over the ground as smoothly as a hoverboard. If you attach on the additional battery, you double the range, but you have to accept lazier bike handling due to the extra weight.

Read the full review at ebike-mtb.com.

The new Focus Sam2 is an electric assist enduro mountain bike with 170mm of travel at either end and a modular two-battery system called TEC. The TEC stuff basically means it uses a smaller than usual battery (380Wh as opposed to the more common 500Wh) which is tucked away inside the down tube. The idea of a smaller battery, with less run time, is that for most rides (2-3hr) it will be enough and the rider will benefit from lugging less weight around. For longer rides there is the ability to attach a second 380Wh battery on top of the down tube (via a bracket on the bottle bosses). This adds another 2kg to the weight. It’s an interesting idea and further shows how Focus are deliberately thinking outside of the box much like they did with the unique Raven2.

With the battery being inside a frame tube, not attached externally or forming part of the down tube integration, the frame is lighter for its strength. The potential for battery overheating is addressed by air intake vents up near the head tube and exhausts through the motor. Although it’s a long travel enduro bike like the non-electric Focus Sam, the electric Sam2 doesn’t use the same suspension system. The Sam2 uses Focus’ Focus Optimised Linkage Design (FOLD) design.

FOLD a single pivot design that uses a linkage arrangement to drive the shock. The linkage is falling rate for the first part of its travel ie. to the sag point at 50mm, and from sag onwards it’s progressive. The idea being that it’ll be plush and floaty around the sag point and then ramp up once into its travel proper.

Read the full review at MBR.co.uk.

Focus has just launched its longest travel e-bike yet. Based on the Sam enduro platform it offers a generous 170mm of travel at each end. Unlike the non-electric Sam, it makes use of Focus’s “FOLD” (Focus Optimised Linkage Design) suspension system as well as its modular battery system, dubbed “TEC” (tailored energy concept). The FOLD suspension provides a regressive rate towards the sag point (for reasons which don’t really make much sense to me) before becoming moderately progressive after sag to add mid-end stroke support and resist bottoming out.

Meanwhile, the TEC battery system is designed to offer plenty of oomph without too much unnecessary weight. Most e-MTBs use a battery with around 500Wh of energy. In my experience, this is good for between 1,000m and 1,500m of climbing, depending on terrain and how you use it. Focus, however, argues this is more than necessary for 90 percent of e-MTB rides, and too little for some longer days out.

Focus reckons this will provide enough juice for most 2–3 hour rides, which it says make up the majority of its customers’ outings. In this configuration a bespoke bottle cage mount can be slotted above the down tube. If you want to do a longer ride, an additional 380Wh pack can be slotted onto the down tube instead of the bottle cage, providing a whopping total battery capacity of 760Wh. Cleverly, the additional battery is used up first, so it can be removed and left somewhere safe once it’s spent.

The Sam2 weighs in at a very competitive 21kg in size medium. Add another 2kg with the external battery installed. The disadvantage of this system is that the internal battery is not easy to remove. Two bolts must be taken out, allowing the motor to be swung down, then the battery can be slid out of the down tube. This makes it harder to swap the primary battery or take it out to charge outside of the bike. Of course, the battery can be charged inside the bike if you have electricity in the place where you store your bike.

Because the battery is encased inside the down tube Focus has developed a venting system to keep it cool. This allows air to enter via ports near the head tube, pass through the down tube and exit via the motor. It claims this prevents the battery over-heating, or becoming less efficient due to excessive heat, and says it’s been tested in a lab from -10°C to 40°C.

Like most e-bikes, the Sam2 will climb up virtually anything. Having said that, I still think the 75-degree effective seat angle could be even steeper to help prevent front-wheel lift on the steepest pitches. Focus’ s decision to fit normal-width 2.5-inch tyres makes sense from a puncture-prevention standpoint, but I feel 2.8-inch versions of the same excellent Minion tyres would offer even more climbing traction, which is always the limiting factor of e-bike ascents. There is space for up to 2.8-inch rubber in the frame and fork, though.

Suspension is super supple too, despite setting the compression damping quite firm. The combined result is downhill-bike levels of security, comfort and stability when hammering through loose rock gardens. It’s a lot of fun.

Read the full review at bikeradar.com.